Montréal

Smudge & Boyo sent these four postcards to Geography Cat from their home in Montréal, mum Anastasia helped out and wrote them up with lots of detail:

Thank you so much Anastasia, Smudge & Boyo. Here’s what they have to tell us, card by card:

“Dear Geography Cat,

This is an old photo of Montréal taken from the infamous Olympic Stadium, which is in the east end of the city. Montréal is the metropolis of the largely French-speaking province of Quebec. Some people assume it is the capital, but that is actually Quebec City. Both are worth a visit! The population of Greater Montréal is roughly the same as that of Wales. Canada is a very big country, but not a highly populated one. The city of Montréal is located on un-ceded indigenous lands, of which the Kanien’Kehá:Ka Nation is recognised as the custodian. It has already been snowing for two days and it is only mid November.”

“The other picture was taken from here! The Olympic Stadium was built for the 1976 Summer Olympics, the first Olympic Games to be held in Canada. At the time, the Prime Minister of Canada was Pierre Elliott Trudeau, father of the current PM Justin Trudeau. The Montréal airport is named after Trudeau Snr. Unfortunately, the Montréal Olympics remain infamous for having gone waaaaaaay over budget. The countries to win the most medals were the Soviet Union and East Germany. A lot has changed since! The city is also remembered for having hosted Expo67, for which the metro (subway) system was built.”

“Montréal has four universities and is frequently named one of the best cities in which to be a university student (we agree with that sentiment). We are also famous for the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, and the International Jazz Festival. We are also home to the International Civil Aviation Organisation. The well-known Cirque du Soliel started here. Montréal was once Canada’s financial centre but language politics meant many businesses moved to Toronto instead.”

“Winter in Montréal is….COLD! In January and February, it can go down to -35ºC. That said, we get wonderfully warm summers, often above 25ºC. This summer was particularly hot due to global warming*. Some elderly people even died from the heat. Normally it is pleasantly warm, but the effects of global warming* cannot be overstated. Overall though Montréal is a pretty safe city to live in. A true melting pot of French, English, Indigenous and recent immigrant cultures, Montréal is well worth av a visit! (Not that we are biased.)”

* Geography Cat Note – Global warming is a misnomer, what is happening is better described as Global Climate Change instead as the tendency is towards more extreme climate, rather than a general warming effect across the globe.

Elizabeth also sent this beautiful postcard from Montréal:

Thank you again Anastasia, Elizabeth, Smudge & Boyo; best wishes to you all.